The Real P5 ?

[cortsdad2]

Thanks. I doubt skinny tires and fenders will look good. Once again, sacrificing styling for the all important 84 mpg in an era of gas for less than $2.00 per gallon.

Funny, but I remember "cheap gas" as being under a buck... I don't see my definition of "cheap gas" ever coming back!
The Elio's main goal is cheap to own and operate. I'll take skinny tires over style on my Elio...

 

[John Painter]

I look forward to Deborah posting them. I predict the P5 will be the buzz, create a stir, and steal the LA Auto Show (Best in Show). The auto journalists should provide for some good reading and EM PR in the Auto Trade Magazines following that event.

I am thinking the same thing, considering LAAS chose to put the Elio on their website....

 

[Muzhik]

As far as the naysayers, not sure they can be stopped, short of parking a new Elio on top of them. Might be fun
​

Parking a new Elio on top of them? Naaah. That's overkill.

Parking a new Elio on their foot? Now THAT might be fun. And a good demonstration of the precision of the steering mechanism.

 

[Ekh]

If they do allow media test drives, I seriously hope Jalopnik is dead last, if at all.

No, that special spot in line belongs exclusively to Joe Borass. Reasons? Read his stuff, they're obvious. And I don't appreciate being called a "stalker" and a "pervert" for expressing my willingness to take him up on a challenge to say why I thought Elio would make it. So he's dead last, and the only thing better than that IMO would be to take "last" out of the preceding clause.

 

[Ekh]

FWIW. the "real deal", in this case would mean:
It will be subject to instrumented testing for horsepower, torque, acceleration, top speed, braking and cornering. And those results would be published.
It will have fully functioning ABS, traction control, heating, aircondition, and stereo.
The windshield wiper and washer will work. The side windows will roll up and down, and the door lock will work. The trunk lid will latch.
All the lights and signals will work properly.
The rear view mirrors will be spec'd to production size and location.
The steering geometry and feel will be representative of the production vehicle.
The interior ergonomics and sound level will be representative of the production vehicle.
The steering wheel, pedals and shifters will be in production locations and trim.
All the instrumentation will be in factory format and will function correctly.
The seats will be production spec, size and material.
The ODBII system will be fully functional.
The suspension geometry and dampers will approximate production intent, subject to further testing.
It has already been intimated/declared that the body panels will be fiberglass rather than SMC, or I would include SMC body panels in the list.

The "real deal" would be the vehicle that would stop the naysayers from saying that Elio has never built a vehicle that meets the advertising targets.

I hope that helps you understand what I mean by "the real deal".

It will be interesting to see what items on this list are fulfilled. I doubt any formal performance testing is on the schedule.

 

[Ekh]

That may be true.

I left off the "real deal" for the engine and transmission:
The engine will have VVT and flame-spray, if those are still planned for production.
The transmission will be a production-spec unit.

Hopefully RickB is correct, and the P5 will have most of the list items. If not, then the E's six months later. Or the S1's, at least. Hopefully we don't have to wait until #126 like WilliamH thinks. It really would be nice to be able to point to a vehicle that proves that Elio can meet its targets. It's hard to have to keep saying "the next one will be the one".

The engine does have those things, with the possible exception of flame spray -- and I think it has that.

 

[John Painter]

I think that the EM Tour Team should consider displaying the P5 at a couple of National Motorcycle Shows and also the largest motorcycle rally in the country the Sturgis Bike Rally in 2016. Boomer motorcycle enthusiasts are a big target market for the Elio autoCYCLE. They shouldn't be marketing just to the AUTOcycle enthusiasts.

While I personally think this is a no-brainier (I ride) I have a buddy who works at the AMA and they are somewhat cool on the whole autocycle concept - there some in the bike community who think creating a new vehicle category like this is an abomination. I think, if enough people buying the Elio thought of it as a motorcycle-like vehicle more than a car, the AMA would be all over it.

 

[Ekh]

When/where? I could have sworn one of the blogs specifically stated that the P5 had the SMC panels now, rather than the Fiberglass panels of the P4.

It does have the SMC panels. One of the blogs stated that.

 

[Rickb]

While I personally think this is a no-brainier (I ride) I have a buddy who works at the AMA and they are somewhat cool on the whole autocycle concept - there some in the bike community who think creating a new vehicle category like this is an abomination. I think, if enough people buying the Elio thought of it as a motorcycle-like vehicle more than a car, the AMA would be all over it.

I understand that reaction from the younger bikers. The retiring bikers will no doubt find the Elio on their own after they see it on the road. The AMA no doubt has similar regards to open trikes like the Slingshot and perhaps three wheeler trikes in general.

 

[Jeff Bowlsby]

In associating the Elio with a bike connotation (for the sake of discussion)...We can only wonder what custom shops like OC Choppers would (could) do to its design...